A Companion to Malory

by Elizabeth Archibald, A. S. G. Edwards, Barbara Nolan, C. David Benson

Overview

Malory's Morte Darthur - text, history and reception - expertly appraised by international scholars.

This collection of original essays by an international group of distinguished medievalists provides a comprehensive introduction to the great work of Sir Thomas Malory, which will be indispensable for both students and scholars. It is divided into three main sections, on Malory in context, the art of the Morte Darthur, and its reception in later years. As well as essays on the eight tales which make up the Morte Darthur, there are studies ofthe relationship between the Winchestermanuscript and Caxton's and later editions; the political and social context in which Malory wrote; his style and sources; and his treatment of two key concepts in Arthurian literature, chivalry and the representation of women. The volume also includes a brief biography of Malory with a list of the historical records relating to him and his family. It ends with a discussion of the reception of the Morte Darthurfrom the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries, and a select bibliography.

Contributors: P.J.C. FIELD, FELICITY RIDDY, RICHARD BARBER, ELIZABETH EDWARDS, TERENCE MCCARTHY, CAROL MEALE, JEREMY SMITH, ELIZABETH ARCHIBALD,BARBARA NOLAN, HELEN COOPER, JILL MANN, DAVID BENSON, A.S.G. EDWARDS

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780859915205
Publisher:	BOYDELL & BREWER INC
Publication date:	10/02/1997
Series:	ISSN , #37
Edition description:	Revised ed.
Pages:	280
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x (d)

About the Author

ELIZABETH ARCHIBALD is Professor of English Studies at Durham University, and Principal of St Cuthbert's Society.

A. S. G. Edwards is Honorary Professor of Medieval Manuscripts at the University of Kent at Canterbury.

A. S. G. Edwards is Honorary Professor of Medieval Manuscripts at the University of Kent at Canterbury.

ELIZABETH ARCHIBALD is Professor of English Studies at Durham University, and Principal of St Cuthbert's Society.

Elizabeth Edwards is a Professor at the University of King's College, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Jeremy Smith was professor of English philology at Glasgow, where he remains a senior research fellow and emeritus professor, and an honorary professor at St Andrews. His specialisms include English historical linguistics, medieval studies, and book history, combined recently in Transforming Early English (2020).

RICHARD BARBER has had a huge influence on the study of medieval history and literature, as both a writer and a publisher. His first book on the Arthurian legend appeared in 1961, and his major works include The Knight and Chivalry (winner of the Somerset Maugham Award in 1971), Edward Prince of Wales and Aquitaine, The Penguin Guide to Medieval Europe and The Holy Grail: the History of a Legend which was widely praised and was translated into six languages.

Table of Contents

Introduction - Elizabeth Archibald and A S G Edwards
'The Hoole Book': Editing and the Creation of Meaning in Malory's Text - Carol. M Meale
Chivalry and the Morte Darthur - Richard Barber
The Place of Women in the Morte Darthur - Elizabeth Edwards
Contextualising Le Morte Darthur: Empire and Civil War - Felicity Riddy
Malory and His Sources - Terence McCarthy
Language and Style in Malory - Jeremy J Smith
The Malory Life-Records - P J C Field
Beginnings: The Tale of King Arthur and King Arthur and the Emperor Lucius - Elizabeth Archibald
The Tale of Sir Gareth and The Tale of Sir Lancelot - Barbara Nolan
The Book of Sir Tristram de Lyones - Helen Cooper
Malory and the Grail Legend - Jill Mann
The Ending of the Morte Darthur - C. David Benson
The Reception of Malory's Morte Darthur - A S G Edwards
A Selective Bibliography of Malory Studies - Elizabeth Archibald and A S G Edwards

Editorial Reviews

A comprehensive and reliable introduction to Malory, with a happy balance between the provocative and the incontrovertible. Especially useful for undergraduates... MEDIUM AEVUM
Welcome introduction... there will be much here that will be attractive to students of the Morte. YEAR'S WORK IN ENGLISH STUDIES
The single book on Malory every Middle English scholar should read. JOURNAL OF ENGLISH AND GERMANIC PHILOLOGY

From the Publisher